Americans with Disability Act (ADA) gives protection to individuals with a disability from discrimination because of their disability. They are described as “qualified individuals with disabilities.” Hence, it is important to understand what “qualified” and “disability “refer to. There are people with disabilities, but they are capable of working, especially if flexibility and support are provided to them.
Although disability means inability to secure employment within the context of social security disability benefits, the meaning of disability under federal antidiscrimination laws is different. The ADA Amendment Act 2008 was enacted to overcome the limitations of certain Supreme Court rulings that narrowed the scope of disability entitlements under the ADA that was not in tune with the legislative intent expressed for the original enactment of ADA of 1990.
Although the disability has been broadly defined under the ADA, many plaintiffs have been denied the benefits of disability by the Supreme Court that held that conditions such as epilepsy, diabetes, depression, and certain other conditions could not be treated as disabilities as decided in Corley v Department of Veterans Affairs, Orr v Wal-Mart and Cassimy v Board of Education. This was the reason why Congress amended the ADA to include these conditions also.
The present criterion of disability entitlement is that persons should be currently disabled without listing out the specific disorders or disabilities to be considered as such. Thus, it is the functioning of a person that decides whether he is disabled or not rather than his diagnostic labels. Psychiatric disorders, mental retardation, and learning disabilities are considered as disabilities if they otherwise meet the other elements of the definition of disability.
Thus, for entitlement under the ADA, individuals must be both disabled as well as qualified. An individual with a disability possessing the required skill, qualification, experience, and other job requisites and the ability to perform the job is entitled to protection under the ADA.